On September 17, 1787, the final day of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Benjamin Franklin, 81, shared with his fellow delegates his assessment of the new Constitution:
A republic cannot survive if citizens become clients and bureaucrats become masters. The administrative state is not merely inefficient. It is anti-republican by nature when it governs beyond consent, spends beyond restraint, regulates beyond law, and survives every election untouched. Franklin feared corruption because corrupt people eventually demand rulers. That is where debt, censorship, judicial supremacy, weaponized agencies, and permanent government lead. The cure is not nostalgia. It is constitutional surgery: cut spending, restore Congress, restrain courts, fire rogue bureaucrats, secure elections, and rebuild civic virtue. Freedom requires character. Without it, the republic becomes paperwork with a flag.
I forget who said it as it has been credited to several different people, but our Republic will only last until the people realize they can vote themselves benefits from the treasury. I'd say we're long since passed that point.
Purportedly misattributed to Alexis de Tocqueville as, “The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money.”
But it is widely believed to reflect his sentiment, though the quote is not his. He did say such gems as these...
“I do not know if the people of the United States would vote for superior men if they ran for office, but there can be no doubt that such men do not run.”
― Alexis de Tocqueville
“It is indeed difficult to imagine how men who have entirely renounced the habit of managing their own affairs could be successful in choosing those who ought to lead them. It is impossible to believe that a liberal, energetic, and wise government can ever emerge from the ballots of a nation of servants.”
― Alexis de Tocqueville
“Democracy extends the sphere of individual freedom, socialism restricts it. Democracy attaches all possible value to each man; socialism makes each man a mere agent, a mere number. Democracy and socialism have nothing in common but one word: equality. But notice the difference: while democracy seeks equality in liberty, socialism seeks equality in restraint and servitude.”
Thank you, Forbes, for those quotes. Excellent well worded truths and observations. Solutions however, always seem to come back to the heart, do they not? How do you suppose one should address that?
If your belief is in your heart, then practice your beliefs. Reinforce them with wide reading of the ancients who've said and repeated these thoughts over and over again in many different ways. Share what you've discovered in your daily life. E.g., some months ago, I read Adam Smith's "The Theory of Moral Sentiments," a work he wrote before "The Wealth of Nations." It was challenging--exercising the brain is important. Most problems or dilemmas in life have many answers, many approaches--there's not just one answer. Don's quote above from Ben Franklin about learning is excellent. Cheers.
Slight enhancement to your statement: " . . that gives then the most money FOR THE LEAST AMOUNT OF WORK AND ACCOUNTABILITY.
Bill Clinton found out this lesson the hard way when he miraculously (during the Newt Gingrich Congress) instituted the work requirement for receiving welfare. The mindset has been 'brewing' for many decades.
You are on to something but it's not about gender it's about life experiences. We should never have lowered the voting age to 18. In fact because people need to be responsible adults before voting, we should have changed the voting age to 24, 2 years after college graduation and 2 years into the working world and 2 years of paying taxes and more of life experiences. Our grandparents and parents grew up much quicker and held responsibilities at 16 that college grads are just experiencing. Some Dems are trying to lower the voting age and if that happens, our decline will only.accelerate.
I’m not so sure I would exclude all females from voting, and not just because my wife would pummel me. Granted, vast numbers of women are more emotionally based than men, that is basic nature. But there have been lots of women who can logic with the best of them. The first and best I ever bring up is Margaret Thatcher. I would have been happy to hand her the Presidency, and feel safe in the doing. Women badly need the logical temperance of men, and women need the emotional tug of women. The idea of only allowing those who can prove they have enough life experience to vote makes sense on many levels.
Excellent, Richard! Perhaps most damaging is the ongoing deficit spending. When 20% of the spending comes from borrowing non-existent money, what is really happening is the government is stealing the life-savings of Americans. People cry about affordability and the insane cost of housing, but they need look no further than seeing what the government has done to the value of our money, and they do so with ill intent. And all of the cowards in government will just keep kicking the can down the road for someone else to deal with which apparently will never take place until we have an economic collapse.
The only cause of inflation is the “federal” reserve creating money, without any backing whatsoever, from thin air. But you NEVER hear this FACT from our politicians or media. It’s disgusting 🤮
I've been hearing that since 1913, the value of the dollar has shrunk to 3 cents. Since I've heard that for many years now, is the true value in the negative numbers now?
The one expence that always gets paid first is interest. Think about that all the way up to the world scale as a quiet source of worldwide economic problems. Control of interest rates via the Federal Reserve and its parent in London plus the control of the prices of raw materials via the commodities futures market also from London and you have the worldwide banking mafia that is finally being dismantled after 100 years of wars and control. Check out Promethean Action for more details. Prometheanaction.com.
bureaucrats = masters = authoritarians does not equal freedom. "The line between right and wrong passes through each individual heart." Soltsenetzin? Therein lies the rub. "He who knows the right thing to do and does it not, sins." James ? Ruling the unruly by the unruly becomes a problem. Indeed, RL. "Freedom requires character. Without it, the republic becomes paperwork with a flag."
Solzhenitsyn - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn: "You must understand, the leading cause of the evil in the world is the absence of good men." - "Unlimited power in the hands of limited people always leads to cruelty."
Yup, the government indoctrination centers must be reformed or closed. Preferably the federal department of education should be abolished and the states put back in charge of education.
But the average GPA is nearly 3.5!!! These kids are brilliant!!
This in fact is the Dr Spokization of America. No spine. No discipline. Too much concern vl about a persons ego. Flunk no one. Couple that with pandering to teachers unions, beinh opposed to testing.... God help us.
Even our brightrst at Harvard and Stanford think admission is an entitement to a high GPA.
I don't know if they said that in circa 1903, but their descendants are holding craft beers from Warped Wing Brewery today.
Historical note: It was the invention of 'warping' the wing of the wright flyer at Kitty Hawk that enabled the craft to stay in the air and be somewhat controllable. The Wrights did that by pulling a rope that connected to the wing edge from their prone position. Nobody else had figured that out. The concept is consistent with the motion of a bird's wing as it flaps it's way into flight.
I always get a kick out of watching the hang gliders diving off of the giant sand dunes near the Wright Memorial in Kitty Hawk/Kill Devil Hills. They usually glide a short distance and then do headers down into the sand. I think I am fine with just watching at my age.
The Wright's biggest competitor, Samuel Pierpont Langley, was funded by the government (limitless money) and launched his prototypes off a very short 'launcher' on top of a boat so the pilots fell into water if it didn't fly. I guess that was the 1900's version of OSHA.
I'm not a fan of Simon Sinek's TED Talk about this, but it does tell part of the story. It just conveniently exaggerates it too much for the benefit of his message.
I was born in Dayton but I never heard that story but I'm guess it's a yes...JD Vance is also from close by fyi, Ohio has a lot of great and famous people (and some not). It was a great place to grow up, Ohioans are friendly and smart and hard workerst!
“Industry pays debts, while despair increases them” and “Rather go to bed without dinner than to rise in debt.”
This is a quote I have lived by. I do not spend money I do not have. I have always saved 25% of my pay since I was 22 years old. I am now a few months from being 70. I have one debt, my mortgage, that I could pay off with savings and still have enough to retire on comfortably.
I am appalled at the lack of financial discipline by our government. With their constant counterfeiting of monies, (that you and I would go to prison for doing), has crushed the producers in this Nation while fattening the slugs who order the printing.
Perhaps PDJT could push for the 28th Amendment, (as designed by me), to our beloved Constitution. It would state that no elected or appointed official will be paid while the Nation is in debt, institute a National Sales Tax of 10%, and eliminate all other forms of taxation other than sales tax.
If that were to ever happen, EVERYONE would have “skin in the game”, even the parasite class as they are charged another 10 to 15% for their EBT items.
An old man can dream can’t he???
May GOD Almighty continue to bless and protect President Donald J. Trump and these United States of America!!!
I do, however, prefer President Tump's brilliant vision of bringing us back to supporting the nation with tariffs. We survived a long time with no direct tax on citizens.
This is why the Commies in Charge have thrown up so many road blocks to the tariffs.
Mike, if you say “Amen” to steph’s comment, you should also apologize to steph for your comment above that “suffrage (for women) was the worst thing that ever happened to our country”.
In Mike's defense I would point out that women, as a class, contain a much higher percentage of shrill, ill-informed, overly impulsive, super-self-righteous,
highly irritating characters. For evidence, all you have to do is watch a few videos of anti-ICE or pro-George Floyd or anti-Trump demonstrations (AKA riots).
But like every generalization, this one has exceptions. Like TPG, for instance.
Thanks for your conciliatory reply, Wim—appreciate it.
It’s true that women are more verbal, and therefore more visible. But what those bashing women consistently fail to acknowledge is that liberal men are right in there voting with liberal women. No one has suggested stripping MEN of the vote.
There is a small % difference in proportion of men and women voting for Left and Right. But this % difference is offset by the extreme damage liberal men are doing by the positions they hold in organizing, financing, and running the Democratic party.
Should we make a law that men should not be able to run for political office or manage a media company?
This willful refusal to acknowledge the role of liberal MEN in destroying America is shallow and emotion-based thinking. And I can only assume the emotion is some type of personal resentment of some specific woman in that man’s personal history, or an ugly general misogyny more akin to Islamic men’s oppression of their women.
I'm not the only one who has made the generalization although, as people like Matt Margolis have noted, many far-left women have made their own bed. See "This must be why liberal women are bonkers" in PJMedia, August 22, 2025. His point, and it's not an unreasonable one, is that despite the abortion industry's denials, women who've had abortions are more than twice as likely to need psychiatric care than those who have not; and along the same line, they seek to deny that reality by means of aggressive, outrageous public conduct, in order to "cover up the guilt, trauma, and regret [of their abortions] with empty slogans and angry theatrics".
White liberal women are also the most fervent advocates of the tranny-idiocy; Ann Coulter has written about that in "Transgender Nation", in Taki's Magazine, March 30, 2023.
Pew Research supports Margolis' generalization that self-identified white liberal women are the craziest: See "Scientific study points to liberal white women being the craziest", PJMedia, July 27, 2021.
Or as that great social scientist Greg Gutfeld has said: "The Democratic Party is the party of over-educated, angry, liberal women" (March 7, 2023).
"Why are white liberal women especially eager for battle?" Because most of them have enjoyed the female privilege of being able to be aggressive, insulting and even violent towards men with no consequences. They think they can transfer this immunity into [the public] arena and -- as the deceased woman found out -- it doesn't work there. In videos of violent female protesters getting taken down by police their facial expression often goes from rage to complete shock." This was in response to the shooting of the woman in Minneapolis, who was aiming her car at the ICE agent. [Catherine Johnson on Unherd, Jan 14, 2026]
One response to this, by Nancy K Maxim on Unherd, was that when such women "are asked why they're out protesting, they reply with a jumbled list of victim groups who they need to save because they're white women. What an interesting combination of inflated self-importance and condescending bigotry,"
I have a lot more, highlighting yet more aspects of this female social phenomenon, but this is getting too long already.
I’ve been advocating for a national sales tax for decades. Any form of taxation which demands that you tell the government how much you have earned or how you earned it is an invasion of privacy. It’s none of their business. A national sales tax would eliminate that. No more filing and it would eliminate 98% of the IRS.
And not just the parasites would pay it. The drug dealers, the ultra wealthy John Kerry types would pay it when they purchase their gazillion dollar sailboats, tourist would pay it, illegals would pay it.
Before a national sales tax is implemented to replace income tax, the Sixteenth Amendment must be repealed - otherwise, after the sales tax is implemented the DEM's can always reinstitute income tax.
Oh it would... and it would give them gobs if mone to spend and the debt would only griw higher. National sales tax is like giving crack to a drug addict.
agree. the current income tax doesn't touch approx 50% of population. a national sales tax gives everybody a (at least a small) stake in the spending and priorities of the country. of course, politicians know that so keep half of us in lala land.
Federal spending in recent years has varied between 20 and 25% of the national economy, and about 60% of that has been financed by individual and corporate income taxes. Most of the remaining 40% is paid by payroll taxes, to pay for Social Security and Medicare. Unless I am mistaken, to replace both the income tax AND payroll taxes (both moves would greatly benefit economic activity), a national sales tax would have to levy a similar percentage on all goods and services -- between 20 and 25% -- although it might be slightly less if the federal government continues levying its other, smaller sources of income, like estate taxes, import duties, estate taxes and more.
A couple of caveats: (1) this ignores the part played by the huge federal debt, and the slight possibility that with the enormous amounts of fraud being exposed in so-called social spending, like nonexistent home-care and fake Learing Centers, we might see those federal activities curtailed. One can always hope!
When I was starting out, I recall 2 schools of thought on debt - one was that debt was good, so that instead of paying off debt - invest the money. The other was to pay off all debt ASAP. Initially I went for the 1st choice, but after a few years with mounting debt, I realized it was a bad option for me (guess I picked the wrong investments). Then, I concentrated on paying off all my debts. So, now I have zero debt - I paid off our 15-year mortgage in 11 years, no tuition loans, no car loans (have paid cash for our last 2 cars) - and most important of all no stress. Even though we're retired, I still manage to save some money.
I’m like you— no debt; don’t like it, don’t want it. Took economics course in college where the prof was a proponent of deficit spending In government. Can’t remember the specifics, but I had to drop the elective class as I couldn’t wrap my head around what he was teaching.
I definitely agree that EVERYONE should have "skin in the game" - plus during any future government shutdown, the Congress critters should NOT BE PAID. I admire PDJT for donating his salary every quarter during his time in office. He continues to set a good example for the country that he loves
Even better, make every Congressional seat (and arguably every government job) a fiduciary position. Make them personally responsible for their spending decisions.
It’s worth noting that the Constitution Franklin spoke of in 1787 needed the Bill of Rights to become the Law of the Land.
The State of Hawaii tried to use law proclaimed by Kamehameha I to support an attack on the 2nd Amendment before SCOTUS.
This is my reminder to you that Democrat hero, King Kamehameha I, a murderous tyrant that waged aggressive war against his neighbors (a Bronze Age culture) using Western weapons is in Statuary Hall holding a spear and has a state holiday in Hawaii. He invaded Maui, who does that?
The US Supreme Court ruled yesterday that Tyrants get no respect.
“(1) Hawaii’s argument that its “particular customs and laws,” Brief for Respondent 24, support the new default rule fails because the
Second Amendment has the same meaning in all parts of the United States. The Second Amendment cannot give way to “the spirit of
Aloha” in Hawaii, contra, State v. Wilson, 154 Haw. 8, 27, 543 P. 3d
440, 459, any more than it can yield to the spirit of the Big Apple (Bruen) or the Windy City (McDonald). Merely local attitudes can neither shrink nor inflate the meaning of fundamental Bill of Rights guarantees …”
We have crossed the Rubicon with life-time Senators (Shame on you 17th A), Representatives and Federal Judgeships. There should be TERM LIMITS on all "Leaders" in DC. More importantly, lets craft a few more, repeal the 17th, limit all DC Swamp creatures to 12 year's TOTAL! Even if you want to go from House/Senate to Presidency.
Add new NO FOREIGN BORN Federal Judges - None! - Zero! They have no idea what the Constitution nor the Bill of Rights mean. How it is ingrained on an Americans Soul.
END Birth Right Citizenship through Legislation. Not a Court case.
First Amendment adjustment - "Freedom of Religion, and Freedom FROM your Religion". Best example, being subjected to the Call to Prayer from that phony "religion", outlaw Sharia Law - same punishment as TREASON for which it is.
Election Day! Paper Ballots! ID to vote!
End Property taxes after the first transaction. With property taxes, you NEVER own your land, but rent it from the diabolical Government.
Whew, I need to chill, it is too early to hate this much.
They may have gone to “Lawfare” school. But, they are not born and raised within our borders. Culture means something. If you came from a culture whereas you paid the police the “fine” or paid the G’ment official from a Socialist Society/Culture. That is the rub. They put their “culture” before the Constitution.
They may have gone to “Lawfare” school. But, they are not born and raised within our borders. Culture means something. If you came from a culture whereas
.> But pessimism is easy. If it weren’t, there would not be as many pessimists, would there? We shall keep a republic because we are a stubborn people. <
A serious note today.
I got something in my eye reading your conclusion.
The Republic died in 1913, or at least the poison that killed it was swallowed:
- The 16th Amendment, creating the income tax
- The 17th Amendment, taking away the States' place in Congress
- The creation of the Federal Reserve, which is most directly responsible for the insane spending.
Speaking of the spending, how much of the $7.4 trillion is lost to fraud? 10% seems low, but think of how much corruption is bought with $740 billion in skimming every single year. This is what Deep State Thune is protecting, and why people like Kash, Bongino, etc. become neutered the minute they step foot in DC.
Can it ever be fixed? Unlikely, but ultimately what cannot continue will not continue. And the spending/debt cannot continue indefinitely. Nor can a nation where half the people hate the country as created. I'd love to let them separate (national divorce), but they would never leave us alone. So enjoy America 250, pray for 251, and love our nation while we still can.
The 17th Amendment established that the 2 Senators from each state would henceforth be elected by that State's voters, instead of being appointed. How did this amount to "taking away the States' place in Congress"?
It allows dense metro areas in each state to determine who the senator will ; allowing the state legislature to pick Senators acts as a check against mob rule i.e. the Electoral College .
The Fraud task force and Acting AG Todd Blanche are prosecuting quite a lot of fraudsters, and even recovering some ill spent $$.
This is real progress. I have, on X, encouraged a number of Republican entities to do far more to publicize these wins. They can be part of a winning message for the mid terms.
Obama and herpes, they’re the same thing…. But I also loved the option of Ask Michelle or ask the dead chef. Is it only Democrats who murder inconvenient people and no one even asks questions? How many has Hillary killed? Bill is just a mere rapist but Hillary will slit your throat. The media shrugged when Obama drowned the chef. Whatever, they said. And now they’re electing Muslim communists in New York. Obama destroyed their party—they’re in major crisis and should be wiped off the face of the earth in the midterms. Listen to people when they tell you who they are.
Say a prayer this morning, please. The D*AR votes on the definition of “woman” this morning. They are highlighting for attendees Professor Samuel Bagenstos, progressive (lefty Democrat) who has served in both the Oblahma and Bdn administrations as their (D*AR) legal counsel on the matter. While refusing to acknowledge the solid and clarifying information from the Daughters for Restoration’s legal team. I hope and pray I csn report tomorrow that the Society no longer requires an *. 🙏🏻🇺🇸
Our society has been generous in tolerating trans men who believe they are women to act and dress as they please, but they are demanding more than tolerance here (and in many other avenues)—they are demanding that we ENDORSE their belief system.
This is an aggression that should not be bowed to.
A republic cannot survive if citizens become clients and bureaucrats become masters. The administrative state is not merely inefficient. It is anti-republican by nature when it governs beyond consent, spends beyond restraint, regulates beyond law, and survives every election untouched. Franklin feared corruption because corrupt people eventually demand rulers. That is where debt, censorship, judicial supremacy, weaponized agencies, and permanent government lead. The cure is not nostalgia. It is constitutional surgery: cut spending, restore Congress, restrain courts, fire rogue bureaucrats, secure elections, and rebuild civic virtue. Freedom requires character. Without it, the republic becomes paperwork with a flag.
In short, the “people” will “vote” for the government that gives them the most money.
As Rush said more than once, if the choice is between Santa Claus or something less - they'll vote for Santa Claus.
I forget who said it as it has been credited to several different people, but our Republic will only last until the people realize they can vote themselves benefits from the treasury. I'd say we're long since passed that point.
Purportedly misattributed to Alexis de Tocqueville as, “The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money.”
But it is widely believed to reflect his sentiment, though the quote is not his. He did say such gems as these...
“I do not know if the people of the United States would vote for superior men if they ran for office, but there can be no doubt that such men do not run.”
― Alexis de Tocqueville
“It is indeed difficult to imagine how men who have entirely renounced the habit of managing their own affairs could be successful in choosing those who ought to lead them. It is impossible to believe that a liberal, energetic, and wise government can ever emerge from the ballots of a nation of servants.”
― Alexis de Tocqueville
“Democracy extends the sphere of individual freedom, socialism restricts it. Democracy attaches all possible value to each man; socialism makes each man a mere agent, a mere number. Democracy and socialism have nothing in common but one word: equality. But notice the difference: while democracy seeks equality in liberty, socialism seeks equality in restraint and servitude.”
― Alexis de Tocqueville
Cheers.
Thank you, Forbes, for those quotes. Excellent well worded truths and observations. Solutions however, always seem to come back to the heart, do they not? How do you suppose one should address that?
If your belief is in your heart, then practice your beliefs. Reinforce them with wide reading of the ancients who've said and repeated these thoughts over and over again in many different ways. Share what you've discovered in your daily life. E.g., some months ago, I read Adam Smith's "The Theory of Moral Sentiments," a work he wrote before "The Wealth of Nations." It was challenging--exercising the brain is important. Most problems or dilemmas in life have many answers, many approaches--there's not just one answer. Don's quote above from Ben Franklin about learning is excellent. Cheers.
A more populist approach to soak the rich.
"Grandma got run over by a reindeer..." Santa does not always bring joy.
Slight enhancement to your statement: " . . that gives then the most money FOR THE LEAST AMOUNT OF WORK AND ACCOUNTABILITY.
Bill Clinton found out this lesson the hard way when he miraculously (during the Newt Gingrich Congress) instituted the work requirement for receiving welfare. The mindset has been 'brewing' for many decades.
"the work requirement for receiving welfare." Imagine!
ahah...a cynic after my own heart. consider...if women didn't have the vote would you still make the same claim?
You are on to something but it's not about gender it's about life experiences. We should never have lowered the voting age to 18. In fact because people need to be responsible adults before voting, we should have changed the voting age to 24, 2 years after college graduation and 2 years into the working world and 2 years of paying taxes and more of life experiences. Our grandparents and parents grew up much quicker and held responsibilities at 16 that college grads are just experiencing. Some Dems are trying to lower the voting age and if that happens, our decline will only.accelerate.
Amen to that - I'd prefer voting age of 25. I think insurance companies charge higher premiums for drivers under 25.
the vast majority of free crap from the government goes to females. its not even close and i am sure you are aware of that.
i agree about the voting age. 70% of college students are female. if the voting age was 24 they couldn't vote.
I’m not so sure I would exclude all females from voting, and not just because my wife would pummel me. Granted, vast numbers of women are more emotionally based than men, that is basic nature. But there have been lots of women who can logic with the best of them. The first and best I ever bring up is Margaret Thatcher. I would have been happy to hand her the Presidency, and feel safe in the doing. Women badly need the logical temperance of men, and women need the emotional tug of women. The idea of only allowing those who can prove they have enough life experience to vote makes sense on many levels.
Worst thing to ever happen to the country, suffrage.
Agreed. Less emotion and more reason. Plus more maturity and things would (will?) be better.
Yes. The corruption was evident long before the 19th Amendment. See Sam's comment.
This is a danger - not a given.
Excellent, Richard! Perhaps most damaging is the ongoing deficit spending. When 20% of the spending comes from borrowing non-existent money, what is really happening is the government is stealing the life-savings of Americans. People cry about affordability and the insane cost of housing, but they need look no further than seeing what the government has done to the value of our money, and they do so with ill intent. And all of the cowards in government will just keep kicking the can down the road for someone else to deal with which apparently will never take place until we have an economic collapse.
The only cause of inflation is the “federal” reserve creating money, without any backing whatsoever, from thin air. But you NEVER hear this FACT from our politicians or media. It’s disgusting 🤮
As the great Milton Friedman said, "Inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon."
I've been hearing that since 1913, the value of the dollar has shrunk to 3 cents. Since I've heard that for many years now, is the true value in the negative numbers now?
I don’t know. What I do know is that every single extra dollar that I have goes directly to physical silver or gold. REAL MONEY!
The one expence that always gets paid first is interest. Think about that all the way up to the world scale as a quiet source of worldwide economic problems. Control of interest rates via the Federal Reserve and its parent in London plus the control of the prices of raw materials via the commodities futures market also from London and you have the worldwide banking mafia that is finally being dismantled after 100 years of wars and control. Check out Promethean Action for more details. Prometheanaction.com.
bureaucrats = masters = authoritarians does not equal freedom. "The line between right and wrong passes through each individual heart." Soltsenetzin? Therein lies the rub. "He who knows the right thing to do and does it not, sins." James ? Ruling the unruly by the unruly becomes a problem. Indeed, RL. "Freedom requires character. Without it, the republic becomes paperwork with a flag."
Solzhenitsyn - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn: "You must understand, the leading cause of the evil in the world is the absence of good men." - "Unlimited power in the hands of limited people always leads to cruelty."
You left out education. It cannot survive a totally ignorant population. We’re not have two generations of uneducated population
Yup, the government indoctrination centers must be reformed or closed. Preferably the federal department of education should be abolished and the states put back in charge of education.
But the average GPA is nearly 3.5!!! These kids are brilliant!!
This in fact is the Dr Spokization of America. No spine. No discipline. Too much concern vl about a persons ego. Flunk no one. Couple that with pandering to teachers unions, beinh opposed to testing.... God help us.
Even our brightrst at Harvard and Stanford think admission is an entitement to a high GPA.
Is the fish rots from the down it is in progress.
Lets add to your excellent list, remove rogue judges
You cannot legislate character, honesty, virtue.
That’s what happens when you legislate the Good Lord out of society, period.
amen
Does anyone know if the Wright brothers, upon reading the NY Times editorial, turned to a third person and said, "Hold our beers."?
I don't know if they said that in circa 1903, but their descendants are holding craft beers from Warped Wing Brewery today.
Historical note: It was the invention of 'warping' the wing of the wright flyer at Kitty Hawk that enabled the craft to stay in the air and be somewhat controllable. The Wrights did that by pulling a rope that connected to the wing edge from their prone position. Nobody else had figured that out. The concept is consistent with the motion of a bird's wing as it flaps it's way into flight.
https://www.craftbeer.com/featured-brewery/warped-wing-brings-innovation-and-tradition-to-daytons-beer-scene
I always get a kick out of watching the hang gliders diving off of the giant sand dunes near the Wright Memorial in Kitty Hawk/Kill Devil Hills. They usually glide a short distance and then do headers down into the sand. I think I am fine with just watching at my age.
The Wright's biggest competitor, Samuel Pierpont Langley, was funded by the government (limitless money) and launched his prototypes off a very short 'launcher' on top of a boat so the pilots fell into water if it didn't fly. I guess that was the 1900's version of OSHA.
I'm not a fan of Simon Sinek's TED Talk about this, but it does tell part of the story. It just conveniently exaggerates it too much for the benefit of his message.
I was born in Dayton but I never heard that story but I'm guess it's a yes...JD Vance is also from close by fyi, Ohio has a lot of great and famous people (and some not). It was a great place to grow up, Ohioans are friendly and smart and hard workerst!
“Industry pays debts, while despair increases them” and “Rather go to bed without dinner than to rise in debt.”
This is a quote I have lived by. I do not spend money I do not have. I have always saved 25% of my pay since I was 22 years old. I am now a few months from being 70. I have one debt, my mortgage, that I could pay off with savings and still have enough to retire on comfortably.
I am appalled at the lack of financial discipline by our government. With their constant counterfeiting of monies, (that you and I would go to prison for doing), has crushed the producers in this Nation while fattening the slugs who order the printing.
Perhaps PDJT could push for the 28th Amendment, (as designed by me), to our beloved Constitution. It would state that no elected or appointed official will be paid while the Nation is in debt, institute a National Sales Tax of 10%, and eliminate all other forms of taxation other than sales tax.
If that were to ever happen, EVERYONE would have “skin in the game”, even the parasite class as they are charged another 10 to 15% for their EBT items.
An old man can dream can’t he???
May GOD Almighty continue to bless and protect President Donald J. Trump and these United States of America!!!
APS
Not a bad plan.
I do, however, prefer President Tump's brilliant vision of bringing us back to supporting the nation with tariffs. We survived a long time with no direct tax on citizens.
This is why the Commies in Charge have thrown up so many road blocks to the tariffs.
They don't want our nation to survive.
Amen steph
Mike, if you say “Amen” to steph’s comment, you should also apologize to steph for your comment above that “suffrage (for women) was the worst thing that ever happened to our country”.
In Mike's defense I would point out that women, as a class, contain a much higher percentage of shrill, ill-informed, overly impulsive, super-self-righteous,
highly irritating characters. For evidence, all you have to do is watch a few videos of anti-ICE or pro-George Floyd or anti-Trump demonstrations (AKA riots).
But like every generalization, this one has exceptions. Like TPG, for instance.
Thanks for your conciliatory reply, Wim—appreciate it.
It’s true that women are more verbal, and therefore more visible. But what those bashing women consistently fail to acknowledge is that liberal men are right in there voting with liberal women. No one has suggested stripping MEN of the vote.
There is a small % difference in proportion of men and women voting for Left and Right. But this % difference is offset by the extreme damage liberal men are doing by the positions they hold in organizing, financing, and running the Democratic party.
Should we make a law that men should not be able to run for political office or manage a media company?
This willful refusal to acknowledge the role of liberal MEN in destroying America is shallow and emotion-based thinking. And I can only assume the emotion is some type of personal resentment of some specific woman in that man’s personal history, or an ugly general misogyny more akin to Islamic men’s oppression of their women.
I'm not the only one who has made the generalization although, as people like Matt Margolis have noted, many far-left women have made their own bed. See "This must be why liberal women are bonkers" in PJMedia, August 22, 2025. His point, and it's not an unreasonable one, is that despite the abortion industry's denials, women who've had abortions are more than twice as likely to need psychiatric care than those who have not; and along the same line, they seek to deny that reality by means of aggressive, outrageous public conduct, in order to "cover up the guilt, trauma, and regret [of their abortions] with empty slogans and angry theatrics".
White liberal women are also the most fervent advocates of the tranny-idiocy; Ann Coulter has written about that in "Transgender Nation", in Taki's Magazine, March 30, 2023.
Pew Research supports Margolis' generalization that self-identified white liberal women are the craziest: See "Scientific study points to liberal white women being the craziest", PJMedia, July 27, 2021.
Or as that great social scientist Greg Gutfeld has said: "The Democratic Party is the party of over-educated, angry, liberal women" (March 7, 2023).
"Why are white liberal women especially eager for battle?" Because most of them have enjoyed the female privilege of being able to be aggressive, insulting and even violent towards men with no consequences. They think they can transfer this immunity into [the public] arena and -- as the deceased woman found out -- it doesn't work there. In videos of violent female protesters getting taken down by police their facial expression often goes from rage to complete shock." This was in response to the shooting of the woman in Minneapolis, who was aiming her car at the ICE agent. [Catherine Johnson on Unherd, Jan 14, 2026]
One response to this, by Nancy K Maxim on Unherd, was that when such women "are asked why they're out protesting, they reply with a jumbled list of victim groups who they need to save because they're white women. What an interesting combination of inflated self-importance and condescending bigotry,"
I have a lot more, highlighting yet more aspects of this female social phenomenon, but this is getting too long already.
Zero apologies here, sorry TeaParty.
Tariffs, or at least the effects of them, are very much like a sales tax.
I’ve been advocating for a national sales tax for decades. Any form of taxation which demands that you tell the government how much you have earned or how you earned it is an invasion of privacy. It’s none of their business. A national sales tax would eliminate that. No more filing and it would eliminate 98% of the IRS.
And not just the parasites would pay it. The drug dealers, the ultra wealthy John Kerry types would pay it when they purchase their gazillion dollar sailboats, tourist would pay it, illegals would pay it.
It’s the only “fair” tax in existence.
Before a national sales tax is implemented to replace income tax, the Sixteenth Amendment must be repealed - otherwise, after the sales tax is implemented the DEM's can always reinstitute income tax.
National sales tax is the answer!!!
Equitable to all for the reasons you mention.
Oh it would... and it would give them gobs if mone to spend and the debt would only griw higher. National sales tax is like giving crack to a drug addict.
I don't think a 20% national sales tax would be easy to enact. See above.
agree. the current income tax doesn't touch approx 50% of population. a national sales tax gives everybody a (at least a small) stake in the spending and priorities of the country. of course, politicians know that so keep half of us in lala land.
Yed, but.. see my comment
Federal spending in recent years has varied between 20 and 25% of the national economy, and about 60% of that has been financed by individual and corporate income taxes. Most of the remaining 40% is paid by payroll taxes, to pay for Social Security and Medicare. Unless I am mistaken, to replace both the income tax AND payroll taxes (both moves would greatly benefit economic activity), a national sales tax would have to levy a similar percentage on all goods and services -- between 20 and 25% -- although it might be slightly less if the federal government continues levying its other, smaller sources of income, like estate taxes, import duties, estate taxes and more.
A couple of caveats: (1) this ignores the part played by the huge federal debt, and the slight possibility that with the enormous amounts of fraud being exposed in so-called social spending, like nonexistent home-care and fake Learing Centers, we might see those federal activities curtailed. One can always hope!
🎯🎯🎯🙌🙌🙌
When I was starting out, I recall 2 schools of thought on debt - one was that debt was good, so that instead of paying off debt - invest the money. The other was to pay off all debt ASAP. Initially I went for the 1st choice, but after a few years with mounting debt, I realized it was a bad option for me (guess I picked the wrong investments). Then, I concentrated on paying off all my debts. So, now I have zero debt - I paid off our 15-year mortgage in 11 years, no tuition loans, no car loans (have paid cash for our last 2 cars) - and most important of all no stress. Even though we're retired, I still manage to save some money.
I’m like you— no debt; don’t like it, don’t want it. Took economics course in college where the prof was a proponent of deficit spending In government. Can’t remember the specifics, but I had to drop the elective class as I couldn’t wrap my head around what he was teaching.
I definitely agree that EVERYONE should have "skin in the game" - plus during any future government shutdown, the Congress critters should NOT BE PAID. I admire PDJT for donating his salary every quarter during his time in office. He continues to set a good example for the country that he loves
Go back to a per diem, as in the beginning. The main flaw in the Constitution is that Congress sets their own pay.
Even better, make every Congressional seat (and arguably every government job) a fiduciary position. Make them personally responsible for their spending decisions.
And eliminate tax withholding. Make everyone write a check the day before Election day. Torches and pitchforks, rope and lampposts, here we come!
How would that work?
I like it a lot APS !!
It’s worth noting that the Constitution Franklin spoke of in 1787 needed the Bill of Rights to become the Law of the Land.
The State of Hawaii tried to use law proclaimed by Kamehameha I to support an attack on the 2nd Amendment before SCOTUS.
This is my reminder to you that Democrat hero, King Kamehameha I, a murderous tyrant that waged aggressive war against his neighbors (a Bronze Age culture) using Western weapons is in Statuary Hall holding a spear and has a state holiday in Hawaii. He invaded Maui, who does that?
The US Supreme Court ruled yesterday that Tyrants get no respect.
“(1) Hawaii’s argument that its “particular customs and laws,” Brief for Respondent 24, support the new default rule fails because the
Second Amendment has the same meaning in all parts of the United States. The Second Amendment cannot give way to “the spirit of
Aloha” in Hawaii, contra, State v. Wilson, 154 Haw. 8, 27, 543 P. 3d
440, 459, any more than it can yield to the spirit of the Big Apple (Bruen) or the Windy City (McDonald). Merely local attitudes can neither shrink nor inflate the meaning of fundamental Bill of Rights guarantees …”
The Japanese came close to invading Hawaii ...
Midway to Hawaii
True, but they had bigger dreams. Of dominating the entire Pacific.
FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! as someone once said in Butler, Pennsylvania.
We have crossed the Rubicon with life-time Senators (Shame on you 17th A), Representatives and Federal Judgeships. There should be TERM LIMITS on all "Leaders" in DC. More importantly, lets craft a few more, repeal the 17th, limit all DC Swamp creatures to 12 year's TOTAL! Even if you want to go from House/Senate to Presidency.
Add new NO FOREIGN BORN Federal Judges - None! - Zero! They have no idea what the Constitution nor the Bill of Rights mean. How it is ingrained on an Americans Soul.
END Birth Right Citizenship through Legislation. Not a Court case.
First Amendment adjustment - "Freedom of Religion, and Freedom FROM your Religion". Best example, being subjected to the Call to Prayer from that phony "religion", outlaw Sharia Law - same punishment as TREASON for which it is.
Election Day! Paper Ballots! ID to vote!
End Property taxes after the first transaction. With property taxes, you NEVER own your land, but rent it from the diabolical Government.
Whew, I need to chill, it is too early to hate this much.
On the plus side, excellent comment. Have a beverage of choice, and relax.
They may have gone to “Lawfare” school. But, they are not born and raised within our borders. Culture means something. If you came from a culture whereas you paid the police the “fine” or paid the G’ment official from a Socialist Society/Culture. That is the rub. They put their “culture” before the Constitution.
About the foreign-born judges -- I'm sure they need to have attended an American law school and been admitted to a State bar.
For what that's worth.
They may have gone to “Lawfare” school. But, they are not born and raised within our borders. Culture means something. If you came from a culture whereas
.> But pessimism is easy. If it weren’t, there would not be as many pessimists, would there? We shall keep a republic because we are a stubborn people. <
A serious note today.
I got something in my eye reading your conclusion.
Amen.
The Republic died in 1913, or at least the poison that killed it was swallowed:
- The 16th Amendment, creating the income tax
- The 17th Amendment, taking away the States' place in Congress
- The creation of the Federal Reserve, which is most directly responsible for the insane spending.
Speaking of the spending, how much of the $7.4 trillion is lost to fraud? 10% seems low, but think of how much corruption is bought with $740 billion in skimming every single year. This is what Deep State Thune is protecting, and why people like Kash, Bongino, etc. become neutered the minute they step foot in DC.
Can it ever be fixed? Unlikely, but ultimately what cannot continue will not continue. And the spending/debt cannot continue indefinitely. Nor can a nation where half the people hate the country as created. I'd love to let them separate (national divorce), but they would never leave us alone. So enjoy America 250, pray for 251, and love our nation while we still can.
All true, but it was the Nineteenth that brought us the Woke culture of today.
Woke began when the 45 Goals of Communism was adopted as the dem party platform, formally or not, in the early 20th century.
The 17th Amendment established that the 2 Senators from each state would henceforth be elected by that State's voters, instead of being appointed. How did this amount to "taking away the States' place in Congress"?
It allows dense metro areas in each state to determine who the senator will ; allowing the state legislature to pick Senators acts as a check against mob rule i.e. the Electoral College .
That's a possibility, although in my state I wouldn't trust the Legislature with much of anything.
The Fraud task force and Acting AG Todd Blanche are prosecuting quite a lot of fraudsters, and even recovering some ill spent $$.
This is real progress. I have, on X, encouraged a number of Republican entities to do far more to publicize these wins. They can be part of a winning message for the mid terms.
Obama and herpes, they’re the same thing…. But I also loved the option of Ask Michelle or ask the dead chef. Is it only Democrats who murder inconvenient people and no one even asks questions? How many has Hillary killed? Bill is just a mere rapist but Hillary will slit your throat. The media shrugged when Obama drowned the chef. Whatever, they said. And now they’re electing Muslim communists in New York. Obama destroyed their party—they’re in major crisis and should be wiped off the face of the earth in the midterms. Listen to people when they tell you who they are.
I think it was Mike - who had the upper body strength - that dun in the Chef, in the Great Pond, w the Paddleboard….
Had not thought about that, but you're probably right.
Franklin understood that we must discipline ourselves lest government dictates our behavior.
Accidental Hoosier, very well said. We must work and pray for our nation so we can keep it. The corruption is what is killing us.
Don, an absolutely fabulous piece, an omnibus on the greatness of America! Thank you. DDB
Say a prayer this morning, please. The D*AR votes on the definition of “woman” this morning. They are highlighting for attendees Professor Samuel Bagenstos, progressive (lefty Democrat) who has served in both the Oblahma and Bdn administrations as their (D*AR) legal counsel on the matter. While refusing to acknowledge the solid and clarifying information from the Daughters for Restoration’s legal team. I hope and pray I csn report tomorrow that the Society no longer requires an *. 🙏🏻🇺🇸
I hope sanity prevails, Amy.
Our society has been generous in tolerating trans men who believe they are women to act and dress as they please, but they are demanding more than tolerance here (and in many other avenues)—they are demanding that we ENDORSE their belief system.
This is an aggression that should not be bowed to.
What's really sad is that anyone has to hold a vote for said definition ; there is no one qualified to change it .
Both Obama and herpes are lifelong viral infections.
“They took it as a challenge and two months and 8 days after the editorial ran, Orville and Wilbur Wright proved the New York Times was wrong.”
The NYT name should be changed to Pravda on the Hudson or perhaps now Der Sturmer on the Hudson. Just saying.
The NYT name should be changed to Bankrupt and Going Out of Business.
That would be a great day for America - and the world.
The New York Times- 123+ years of being wrong.
Mr. S I would not call you a pessimist. You, a large number of your readers and myself are realists.
It's hard to be a republic while herding the cats.
THIS. IS. EPIC.